An announcement & An update

So you are probably wondering... "Heidi, where have I been??" Well, I have one of the best excuses in the world for my absence... my dear husband Nate and I are having a BABY!! I'm now in my 22nd week and things are going well. We're expecting the baby sometime around February 1, 2011. We are so thankful and can't wait to meet our little treasure. You can catch a glimpse of our cute little peanut below.

What does this little one mean for my running? Well, that's another great question. Unfortunately though, needless to say, I'm not accomplishing any running goals these days, not distance, not time, pregnancy has really thrown a wrench into the works. Not that I'm complaining. I feel very blessed.

The first few weeks of my pregnancy I ran. I can remember a certain early morning run with my friend Audrey, we did about 4.2 miles. It would've been late May. I remember wondering if I was pregnant during this run. I would have been. However, it wasn't until a good month later that I would find out.

And the week I found out, let me tell you, I couldn't manage any exercise. I felt very gross and was very tired for several weeks. I was napping after work and falling asleep on the couch before 9 pm every night. I was exhausted.

Thankfully those days are behind me, I have a lot more energy and I can't remember the last time I took a nap. However, I am well aware that I lost a good amount of fitness during those first weeks. I find myself out of breath at different times throughout the day and running up the steps isn't as fun as it used to be. My ever expanding size is something I'm noticing too.

I'm doing my best to keep walking and moving as much as possible. I've even gotten to the gym to lift weights a few times. Bottom line is I want to be strong for the marathon that delivering this baby will be. But knowing what I should be doing and getting it done is two different things.

This is definitely challenging but I am so thankful I managed the two 1/2 marathons in 2009. I feel like my body will be more resilient for what's ahead. I know it remembers how to get there again, I know it longs for the open road. I will get there again.

But in the mean time I'm going to enjoy this special season. My friend Kris always tells me there will be more runs, more races, we have many years left. And no matter how much time I have left, I am thankful. God is good, I'm am extremely blessed and I'll be back out there in no time.

But while I have this time, (I know all too soon, I won't have nearly the spare time I have now), I'm going to try to share some of these many thoughts and ramblings I have on running and life and loving every minute of it. I hope you'll join me as I continue this adventure we call life.

It's Been Too Long...

Hi Gang! Wow! Its been too long. But I had such a delightful night I had to write and tell ya about it.

This evening the heat broke here in Central PA and I got to enjoy a lovely dinner outdoors with an old friend who was in from way out west. We grew up together and have been friends for probably close to 20 years. I hope my kiddos don't get into the trouble she and I did, we turned Hershey's Candy Lane and Park City upside down with our hijinks back in the day.

We had a blast talking about food, exercise, kids and so much more.

Her amazing blog was one of the things that inspired me to start my own blog and I wanted to be sure to share it with you.

She started her blog because we found she was spending so much of her time thinking about and preparing healthy food for her girls. Being a bit of a foodie myself I love it.

You can find it at... Quinoa and Corn Chips. Enjoy!

And I'm hoping as my schedule permits I'll be posting a lot more than you've seen from me lately. I apologize and will explain some more in posts to come.

10 Hour Match and it's NOT Over!

So as an avid tennis fan I'm of course following Wimbledon this week. I don't get to play as much as I like but I love the game. Ever since I played with my dad when I was little. I'll have to tell you sometime about my trip to Wimbledon.

What has taken my attention since yesterday? The world's longest tennis match is in progress right now. Today in England at the Wimbledon grand slam a young American John Isner and a Frenchman Nicolas Mahut will continue for a 3rd day a 1st round match that has broken all kinds of records. Longest match, longest set, most aces - and it's not over yet! These guys just must be emotionally exhausted. It's like they've played 2 full matches already. The first 4 sets took around 3 hours and the 5th set more than 7 hours.

With no tie breaker in the 5th set the set is tied at 59-59 -amazing! When I talked to my hubby on the phone yesterday afternoon he asked what I guessed the 5th set would be at, I guessed 18, then 24 then 30 and to see they have played almost 120 games in the final set... this is historic! No one has ever seen anything like it!

If you get a chance today check out the stats or better yet the match on ESPN2. I can't wait to see what happens and in case you're wondering, I'm definitely rooting for the American John Isner. Go USA!

This just in, check out this great Today Show Interview with John Isner

Oh and while we're at it. Great job US Men's Soccer Team on your big win!!

Tonight's Biggest Loser Marathon

So on tonight's episode of The Biggest Loser the final four contestants did a marathon. I haven't been watching this season but was glad I got to catch the marathon coverage tonight.

This is the 3rd season they've done a marathon and each of the seasons, even if I wasn't watching the show, I managed to catch the marathon coverage.


Again tonight, I was blown away by the results. Michael, at 299 lbs. finished in about 6 hours. But that's not all. Daris, a 25 year old who has lost 150 lbs. finished in 4 hours and 2 minutes - AMAZING! That's 9:35/mile! I am so impressed.

And all I can think is... wow, if these people can do it... can't I??

We'll see gang. Someday...?

A Good Sunday Morning Ride

I had a great early morning ride today with my friend Jen. It started out a bit cool and cloudy but we had a great time riding through Lancaster County farmland, even passing by a covered bridge. We didn't experience much traffic and had no trouble with our bikes.

Jen is a great mom who I admire a great deal. She has 3 kids and her oldest is an amazing kid with special needs. I know all 3 kids keep her busy. In the last couple of years I've had the joy of seeing her finish her first sprint triathlon and her first half marathon.

She's become quite the athlete and she inspires me. She totes her kiddos in her bike trailer and get up early to train and I'm sure all the exercise does wonders for her health and her spirit and her outlook.

If I look back, I've been looking up to her and her twin sister since I was in junior high. I'm sure they both will continue to have many lessons to teach me.

Friends are such a blessing and so is being outside, getting some exercise and reflecting on a Sunday morning. I hope you all had a great one too.

A New Experience & a BIG disappointment...

On Saturday I had the opportunity to volunteer at Lancaster City YMCA's Race Against Racism.

My responsibilities included helping to set up the starting line & the finish line as well as clipping timing chips off of people's shoes.

I'm really enjoying getting to see all that it takes to put on a race. However, clipping timing chips, is not an easy job.

It's not easy if your scissors aren't sharp. It's not easy if the people made their chips too tight. It's not easy to avoid all the bodily fluids folks have lost at the finish line. But this experience made me even more thankful to all those who work so hard to put on these races.

What's the big disappointment you may ask? I volunteered at this race specifically so that I could be at the finish line for my good friend Stace's first race. The disappointment... I didn't see her once that day.

I didn't realize there would be over 3,000 folks participating so I didn't think about picking a place to meet up with her. And unfortunately she didn't have her phone with her. I'm glad though we'll both be running at a race together this weekend, the Turkey Hill Classic.

I was super excited though that my friend Julie found me after the race. Julie will be at this week's race with us too. The weather should be great. I can't wait.

A Lesson Learned...

On Tuesday after work I had a lousy run. Last week I ran several times. All of those runs were in the 5-6 mile range so when this Tuesday's 3 1/2 mile run went so poorly of course I wondered what was wrong.

So I wracked my my brain for what might have gone wrong. I came up with some good ideas...

1. I didn't eat anything before my run?

2. I didn't eat enough for lunch?

3. I didn't drink much water that day?

Yes, all good reasons for a lousy run.

So I went out yesterday after work to test my theories. I ate before I went out, a half a sandwich and something to drink. I had a better lunch and I drank more water throughout the day.

As it turns out I went 6 1/2 miles yesterday without any trouble.

Hmm. Reminds me I need to be more careful about drinking water and my diet. How about you??